1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio apparatus and a monitoring method using the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to an audio apparatus equipped with at least a speaker for reproducing a sound signal, such as a stereo audio system, a television receiver, or a personal computer, and to a monitoring method using the audio apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the increasing interest in anti-crime and disaster-prevention activities, a variety of home security systems for protection of homes have been developed and proposed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-023441 discloses a system for reporting the visit of any pre-registered person to a portable telephone terminal of a user via a wide area network, such as the Internet, when the user is away from home. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-373384 discloses a home security system using a wide area network, namely, a CATV transmission network, to monitor a plurality of dwelling units across a wide area.